Behind The Shield

Marc is a veteran law enforcement officer who has served in multiple specialty roles including the Gang Unit and SWAT. We discuss incident that sent him into law enforcement, his martial arts journey, defensive tactics, the importance of fitness, mentorship and so much more.

Bassel Ibrahim is a veteran firefighter, Florida Smoke Diver and a member of the Proactive Rescue Operations team. We discuss his childhood in the Ivory Coast, his powerful immigration story, losing 100 pounds to become a firefighter, the fatality that shaped his mindset, firefighter fitness, realism in training, mental health and so much more.

Michael Easter is a journalist, professor and the author of "The Comfort Crisis". We discuss his journey into writing, the metamorphosis of the magazine industry, the concept of Misogi, the obesity epidemic, seeking discomfort, the importance of boredom and so much more.

Chelsea Burkart is a Performance Dietitian for some of the country's most elite warfighters, working to optimize combat readiness, health, and career longevity. We discuss her journey into nutrition, working with collegiate athletes, energy drinks, hydration, feeding the tactical athlete, supplementation, exogenous testosterone and so much more.

Mohammad Wali Tasleem is a former Afghan Special Forces Company Commander and a member of the Black Rifle Coffee Company team. We discuss his family's fight against the Soviet invasion, watching the Taliban oppress his country, martial arts, his journey into the military, Wali's powerful immigration story and so much more.

Owen Valuch is a veteran firefighter, athlete and Crossfit Medical Operations Team member and who was diagnosed with Lymphoma late last year. In this essential conversation we discuss the importance of his fitness both on and off the fireground, sauna and recovery, fasting with chemotherapy, the mental health toll of a cancer diagnosis, the importance of regular physicals, the incredible news he just received and so much more.

Dr Kelly Starrett is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, the author of the Supple Leopard books and the co-founder of The Ready State. We discuss the importance of hydration, the power of sleep, the aging athlete, overcoming injury, forging wellness in our schools and so much more.

Jake Clark worked for the Secret Service, FBI and LAPD before founding "Save A Warrior". In this second interview we discuss his own healing journey, the importance of a rite of passage, narcissism, courage, philosophy and so much more.

Tim Kennedy is an Army Green Beret, the founder of Sheepdog Response, author and martial artist. In this fourth interview we discuss his work with "Save our Allies", his new schools, mental health, strength and conditioning for jiujitsu, his biography "Scars and Stripes" and so much more.

Jason Khalipa is a former Crossfit Games champion, author and the founder of NCFIT. We discuss Sandlot Jax, jiujitsu and fitness, his journey into Crossfit, overcoming distractions, training the tactical athlete, his daughter's powerful cancer story and so much more.

Pablo Gener is a Florida firefighter and the co-founder of Build Your Culture. We discuss his family's immigration story, toxic relationships, his journey into the fire service, the importance of fitness, common search mistakes, mental health and so much more.

Carmen Ordonez is a TV host, lifestyle expert and the widow of Miami firefighter Fernando Ordonez. We discuss their parents' immigration stories, their romance story, the birth of their son, Fernando's cancer diagnosis, grief, growth, community and so much more.

Dean Stott is a former Special Boat Service operator, contractor, author and mental health advocate. We discuss his journey into the British military, overcoming injury, his cycling world record, royal military service, reality television, mental health and so much more

Kevin Atlas is a former NCAA Division One athlete, author and speaker. We discuss his near death experience at birth, childhood as a congenital amputee, grief, bullying, his powerful journey into basketball, spirituality and mental health, mentorship in schools and so much more.

Keelin Darby is an Alabama law enforcement officer and the wife of Ben Darby; the Huntsville police officer who is currently sitting in a prison on a wrongful conviction. We discuss their journey into policing, the pursuit of higher level tactical training, the suicide call that became an ambush, how both Ben's agency and City stood behind him, the miscarriage of justice from the District Attorney, how we can help overturn this erroneous conviction and so much more.

Nick Wilson is a retired police officer and the man behind "The Resiliency Project". We discuss his journey into policing, the San Bernardino attack, mental health, organizational betrayal, Officer Ben Darby's case and so much more.

Matt Dawson is a finance manager, explorer and the man behind Dawson's Peak. We discuss the career that ended his football journey, the world of finance, the pursuit of happiness, enlightenment in Nepal, overcoming grief, Project Seven for Soldiers and so much more.

Brandon Dreiman is a veteran Indianapolis firefighter, attorney and peer support leader. We discuss his unique journey into the fire service, colour vision, volunteer firefighting, his own powerful addiction story, first responder mental health, yoga and so much more.

Shay Eskew is a burn injured survivor, elite Ironman triathlete, author and proud father. We discuss his near fatal burns at aged 8, the physical and mental recovery, finding endurance sports, the obesity epidemic, forging grit, the Human Performance Project and so much more.

Justin Melnick is an actor, stuntman and plays k9 handler "Brock' on the TV show "SEAL Team". We discuss the nightclub industry, combat photography, his time in law enforcement, warrior dogs, his journey into acting and so much more.